Hollow Point Smile
by george's firework
Summary: What starts off as a night of fun for Seamus and Dean quickly turns to the stuff of nightmares as a party goes bad. Seamus/Dean non-slash.
1. Chapter 1

**C'est moi, again! I've been so inspired recently, and it's all down to the Harry Potter Fanfiction Challenges forum which is an absolutely brilliant place whether you've got writer's block you want to get rid of or if you're just looking for something challenging! This is the first part of an entry for Griffinesque's Tragedy Challenge :)**

"Seamus! For God's sake, get your arse out the shower! I get that you need a little more time than I do to make yourself handsome but we're going to be late, and you know how annoyed Lavender gets when people are late!" Dean yelled over the rush of the shower, banging twice on the door to emphasise his words. He knew Seamus loved the shower in their new apartment, but this an hour was pushing it a little bit. And Dean hadn't even started getting ready because there was only one shower in their small apartment and Seamus had bagged it first.

Speak of the devil and the devil shall appear, Seamus stepped out of the door moments after Dean had had the thought and grinned at the annoyed look on Dean's face. He was fully dressed and had carefully gelled his hair so it looked ruffled but not as if it had been made to look like so.

"You couldn't have got dressed and done your hair in your room?" Dean asked in exasperation. Seamus just shrugged and disappeared into the kitchen as Dean went in to shower. When he came out, ten minutes later with a towel wrapped round his waist, Seamus was sitting on the sofa eating a massive sandwich.

"Dean, hurry up won't ya? I'm getting bored here," Seamus commented teasingly, smirking at Dean. Dean chose to ignore his best friend's comment as he went into his room and rifled through his wardrobe for a shirt that didn't look like it had been thrown up on. He loved his grandmother's birthday presents…

"Seamus, you know there's going to be food at the party, right? Like, our favourite kinds of food because it's a party for us?" Dean called, pulling a decent shirt over his head before he wandered into the living room to begin the hunt for his shoes.

"Yes, Dean, I'm perfectly aware that this is a party to celebrate our new apartment and it's being held in honour of, well, us but Lavender looks for any chance to throw a party. And may I remind you that you're not my Mum!" Seamus got up and trailed back into the kitchen, coming out with a donut and a cheeky grin. Dean shook his head at him with disbelief.

"You're as bad as Ron used to be."

"It's for the journey?" Seamus said, as if he could get the answer wrong.

"Seamus, we're _Apparating._" Dean said with exasperation.

* * *

><p>"Oh my gosh, you guys made it!" Parvati opened the door and squealed at the sight of them, even managing to fit in a happy clapping bounce up and down. She hadn't changed much. "Lavender isn't happy; you guys are nearly twenty minutes late!" She opened the door fully to let them in and beamed as they both stopped and stared at her for a moment; thinking she was stunning them with her beauty. In actual fact, they were kind of taken aback by the amount of skin she had on show. Her dress was extremely short and very low-cut as well. Parvati giggled and twirled, making them gape even more.<p>

"Well, pick your jaws off the floor and come in! I'm afraid we got started without you…" Parvati trailed off as they walked into the girls' apartment to see the party in full blast; music pounding, people dancing, and, of course, drinks in hand. Parvati smiled at both of them, and then disappeared into the crowd.

"Is a dress that short even legal?" Seamus hissed to Dean, his eyes glued to the wall of people that Parvati had disappeared into.

"Well, if Parvati's is, then Lavender's definitely isn't," Dean replied in an undertone, nodding his head towards where their host was busy choosing a drink over on an overflowing table by the window. Dean was worried that Seamus's eyes would actually pop out of his head at the sight of the blonde girl in a dress that was very short, very tight, and very to-the-point. A chuckle left Dean's mouth as he glanced over at his best friend who didn't actually seem capable of coherent thought or speech.

"Do you reckon you can handle going to talk to our host?" Dean teased and Seamus closed his mouth, his eyes still completely wide making him look even more gormless than usual. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, looking somewhat like one of the fish Lockhart had shown them once (_Ahh, yes, the fearsome Golden Guppy Fish! This one was nearly my undoing but I conquered it with a marvellous spell which is really quite simple…) _which made Dean smirk at the memory of how their "dreamy golden-haired dreamboat with his dreamy blue dreamy eyes" had then nearly blown up the classroom. He didn't give his friend a chance to answer before he grabbed his arm and pulled him through the crowd to where Lavender was standing.

"Deaaaaaaaaaaaan, Seeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeamus!" She slurred upon seeing them. Dean reached her before Seamus and kissed her lightly on the cheek, discreetly turning his face so he could dust off the make-up that had transferred onto her face without her noticing. He doubted she would have noticed had he not turned away, she was too busy greeting Seamus in an enthusiastically drunk manner. He wondered how much lipstick would be left on Lavender's face when she finished… kissing Seamus's cheeks. He also wondered how much she'd had to drink already.

"It's so good that you guys came! I mean, we were having a pretty awesome time before you guys showed up but now? Now the party can really get started! You guys, I love you both so much! Why do you not have drinks? Did I not give you drinks? Why was I at the drinks table, if I wasn't getting you drinks? Aw, guys, come here. Come and give me a hug. I've missed you guys!" Dean chuckled out loud; he'd forgotten just how hilarious drunk Lavender was. She managed to become both extremely forgetful and full to the brim with love. She roped them both in for a hug, then shoved drinks into both of their hands and disappeared into the crowd without another word. Seamus stared after her, lipstick smeared on his cheek. His eyes trained on her ass, he shifted uncomfortably.

"I'll be right back," he muttered and ducked down the hall in search of a bathroom.

It was a few hours before Dean and Seamus finally found each other in the hubbub of people – by which time they were both very drunk.

"Dean, Dean, Dean, Dean, DEAN!" Seamus bellowed with a fresh cup of Fire whiskey in his hand. He knocked it back and grinned cheerily at his best friend. "Guess what?" He drew out the second word, and then leaned in closer to him. "There are little, purple Irish men dancing around in the corner!" He whispered in his ear, as if it were some top-secret conspiracy. In the eyes of Seamus, it was.

Dean peered over to the corner Seamus was gesturing at and, not seeing very clearly through his drunken haze, grinned dopily.

"Seamus," he slurred, "_that _is one person. I th-th-th-th-think it's Padma Patil?" He questioned, trying out the word 'think' several times before he finally managed to get the beginning right. The two boys took another peek at the corner and both cocked their heads to the side at the same time, a small look of understanding dawning on both of their features before they both started to roar with laughter.

"Well she has _not _grown up well!" Seamus howled between gasping breaths of laughter. "How come Parva-titty is so hot and she's so… not hot…?" Seamus trailed away, looking confused. Dean frowned at him.

"Seemus? Shawmus? See-a-mouse? Shay-moose?" Dean fumbled over his best friend's name. "Sea-Sea-SEAMUS! That's it!" He slurred and grinned triumphantly, then frowned again and prodded his best friend's chest. It seemed as though he had gone from fairly drunk to completely inebriated after that last shot. "Don't be such a… such a… such a… dick! Don't be such a dick!" He declared, punctuating the end of the sentence with another chest prod. "I think she is BEAUTIFUL and I am going to and tell her so and I'm gonna get laid tonight and you won't because… because you are a dick!" Seemingly satisfied with his little rant, Dean disappeared into the crowd leaving Seamus to smile goofily at Lavender. He hadn't really taken in a word his best friend had said.

Dean didn't even make it halfway across the room before he passed out in a pile of tangled limbs on the floor, a silly little smile on his face. The people around him moved slightly but mostly just continued dancing, not too bothered about the unconscious person on the floor. At that moment, Theodore Nott tripped down the stairs and sprawled into the room looking, to Seamus, high as a kite. Seamus wondered why on earth he was here and then remembered he and Parvati were friends… with benefits. He scrunched his face in disgust for a few moments before he was distracted by Lavender and Parvati dancing very closely together.

"Hey Dean!" Nott had materialised onto the dance floor and was gazing down at the still unconscious Dean with an idiotic grin on his face. "Why're you asleep, man? You're missing the fuuuuuuuuun!" He slurred, then Seamus's view was blocked by Lavender who was sashaying towards him drunkenly with a terrible attempt at a sexy smirk on her face. She fell into his lap, completely distracting him, and hooked her arms around his neck. He could smell the alcohol on her breath but smiled goofily at her anyway because, well, he was completely wasted too.

"Seamus," she began with a serious expression. "You. Are. Very. Very. Very. Hot," she announced, prodding his chest with each word. "And I like you a loooooooot," she drawled, pressing her chest against his. He couldn't help it – he hooked his arm round her waist, slid a hand up her thigh and began attacking her lips with his own in a fiercely sloppy drunken manner.

Meanwhile, in the middle of the room, Nott was still attempting to wake Dean up.

"Come ooooooooon, man! Wake uuuuuuuuuup!" Nott yelled in Dean's ear, prodding him in the side as he tried to make himself heard above the music and the people around them. "Are you even shleeping?" He slurred, patting his pockets clumsily. "Maybe… maybe you've just been… Shtupified! Where's my wand?" He took several attempts at pushing his hand into his pocket before he finally managed to slip it in and drew out a small revolver.

"_Enner-… Enner-… Enner-… _What's that shpell again? Oh yeah, _Ennervate!_" He prodded Dean's chest with the gun, not seeming to realise that he wasn't holding his wand, and then frowned when nothing happened. "Why aren't you waking up? That shpell normally works…" he slurred, nudging Dean with the gun again. "_Ennervate?" _He said questioningly, shaking his 'wand' in confusion. "Oh my _gosh! _I forgot to press the magic button!" He suddenly cried, smacking himself drunkenly in the head with the gun. He frowned down at it. "Ow," he mumbled.

Then he aimed the revolver at Dean's face, shouted "_Ennervate!_" and pulled the trigger.


	2. Chapter 2

It was as if someone had invented a Sober Up spell and cast it on every single occupant of the room aside from Nott who just tripped out of the room and could be heard emptying his stomach into the toilet down the hall. Other than the noise of Nott throwing up, the room was completely silent.

It was the ultimate scene of horror – dozens of young adults having a great time at a party until it all goes too far and somebody ends up either fatally wounded… or worse. People had stopped mid-conversation and mid-action at the sound of the gun going off and were now staring at the place where Dean laid, their faces the epitome of shock. Various couples broke apart to stare, including Seamus and Lavender. Lavender had twisted awkwardly to look at the scene whilst Seamus gazed over her shoulder. Then someone dropped their drink and the muffled crash that occurred as it hit the carpet was the catalyst for all hell breaking loose.

A scream started up in the centre of the room, right beside Dean, and spread like ripples on the surface of a pond until every single girl in the room was screaming their head off. Several people fainted; collapsing sideways, forwards and backwards to be caught by other terrified people. Seamus shoved a screaming Lavender off his lap and tried to run towards Dean but it was as if he was running through treacle, whilst every obstacle known to man got in his way.

"Dean! Dean! God, no, Dean! Move out of my way!" After what seemed like forever, Seamus dropped to his knees beside Dean – he refused to think of him as a corpse. Deep inside of him, he knew it was hopeless but he shook his best friend's shoulder anyway. "Come on, Dean, come on! Get up, please?" He swallowed hard, the room had gone quiet again and everyone was watching him. His wand appeared in his hand and he pointed it at Dean, hand shaking. However, before casting any sort of spell he looked at his best friend's face.

Dean had still been in the same position when the shot had been fired. His hair hadn't moved, nor had any of his limbs, nor had the little idiotic grin upon his face. Seamus would have normally found it quite odd; who smiles when they're unconscious? But he was too focused on the small hole in his best friend's forehead and the blood that was rapidly spilling out of the wound. He wasn't entirely sure what had happened as he hadn't been brought up learning about muggle weaponry but even if he had known every single thing there is to know, he still wouldn't have been able to do anything because his mind had simply stopped working.

"Dean," he whispered. Everyone was still staring at him, expecting him to perform some miracle and bring the boy back to life but as they watched, he dropped his wand to the floor and rested his head on Dean's chest. Tears pooled rapidly on the still chest of his best friend as Seamus cried.

* * *

><p>"Seamus, where on earth have you been for the past couple of weeks? I've been worried to death, why haven't you answered the letters I sent? I have half a mind to Apparate over and make sure you're still alive – this is what happens when you and Dean buy an apartment that doesn't have a fireplace! I get worried sick, especially when there's been news of a shooting in your area, and I have no way of contacting you…" Seamus stared right through the Howler that was screaming in his face using his mother's voice.<p>

It had been two weeks since the party, and Seamus hadn't moved from the sofa where he was curled up since then. He couldn't remember what had happened after the party, it had all been a blur. Seamus just remembered that he had felt the need to stay by Dean's side, whatever the cost. Maybe if he stayed beside him, Dean would come back. That had been his logic. But then at some point, he'd been torn away from Dean's body by a Ministry official – who probably still had the bruises from where Seamus had fought to get back to Dean. The official had cast a Calming charm on him, and then taken him to a small room and offered him a biscuit.

"I don't want a biscuit. My best friend is dead, and I couldn't save him. If that happened to you, would you want a biscuit?" Seamus had said scathingly and then shut down, impervious to the questions she was asking him, though he answered them in his head. He wasn't particularly bothered when she resorted to Legilimency.

_What is your name? _Seamus Finnegan, why do you care?

_What is your relationship to the victim? _His name was, and still is, Dean Thomas and he's my best friend.

_What is your relationship to the perpetrator? _Who, Nott? Fucking twat.

_Were you in the room at the time of the incident? _By incident, do you mean when Nott murdered my best friend in cold blood? Yes, I was there when that happened.

_Did you try to stop it? _I wish I could have. Stupid bird on my lap.

_So you just sat and watched it happen? _Who the fuck even are you, to be asking me questions like this? My fucking best friend is dead, and you think I just sat and watched it happen? Have you ever seen a friend, who's so close he's more like a brother, be shot right in front of your eyes? It happened so fucking quickly that nobody knew what was going on!

Seamus nearly had a fit when she didn't ask another question and simply pulled up his memory of the incident.

_I'm going to have to take a copy of this for evidence. If it would be easier for you, we could arrange for you to have a meeting with an Obliviator? They could clear all the memories and you could go on living your life._

Seamus had left then.

A knock on the door startled Seamus out of his reverie and he gazed at it resentfully from his place on the sofa. He was pretty sure if he tried to get up, his legs would collapse, but the door was locked. Sighing he reached awkwardly behind him and scooped up his wand.

"Who is it?" He meant to say, but all that came out was a croak, with a slight hint of his Irish accent. He wasn't sure how that had happened, but he cleared his throat and tried again.

"It's Lavender. Please, let me in Seamus. I know you don't want to see anyone but I need to talk to you about the… about the funeral." He barely caught the last word because her voice suddenly dropped in volume so she was nearly whispered. His face screwed up in pain and he thought about telling her to go away, but changed his mind.

"Alohomora," he muttered and the lock clicked. Lavender didn't wait for an invitation, she just pushed her way through the door and gazed around in shock for several moments before her eyes finally settled on his curled up form.

"Oh Seamus…" she gasped and picked her way through the rubbish to stand by his side. After clearing a pile of pizza boxes to the side, she sat on the only bare spot of floor. Though he had only moved from the sofa to use the bathroom or have food, he'd still managed to use up every available surface to put his rubbish and dirty dishes on. He could have used magic and had it all cleared up without moving, but his magic wasn't as effective as it had been before the party.

"Seamus, we've all been so worried," Lavender whispered, catching his hand between both of hers. "You haven't spoken to anyone since the party, no one's seen you. Everyone was worried you'd perhaps done something… stupid…" she trailed off as he sat up and winced as his muscles groaned in protest.

"What, did you think I'd committed suicide or something?" He asked her angrily and was so astonished to see her beam that he almost fell off the sofa. That also might have had something to do with the way his muscles were not responding to his brain. That was worrying. "What the fuck is there to smile about?"

"It's just so, so good to hear your voice!" Lavender said happily, then abruptly got up and turned to survey the room. She pursed her lips and whipped out her wand, waved it in a long sweeping motion and watched with satisfaction as the room jumped to life and began to clean itself up. She then turned back to Seamus and considered him carefully.

"You need to eat," she decided and marched over to the fridge, carefully dodging flying rubbish. She opened it, and immediately wished she hadn't. "Urgh! Seamus, what died in here?" She said this just as the objects stopped flying about the room, so Seamus heard her rather unfortunate word choice. The air was thick with tension as Lavender turned, her eyes filled with tears and a very apologetic look on her face.

"Seamus…" she began but he shook his head, not looking at her as a tear ran down his face. "Seamus, you know I didn't mean it like that. I didn't think. I'm so sorry!" She opened her mouth to say more but he cut across her.

"Out." She gaped at him, but he just shook his head and pointed at the door, still not looking at her. "Get. Out." His words were harsh, but he couldn't let her see him break down in the way that he had every time he looked over to see a picture of him and Dean laughing together, or to see one of Dean's shirts draped over the radiator, or even just to see his toothbrush sitting innocently in the holder, blue beside green.

"But…" Lavender trailed off as she saw the tears streaming down his face. "Seamus…"

"Just get out of here!" Seamus cried suddenly and she gave a little squeak, grabbed her wand, and almost dived out of the flat. The door slammed, and then the silence echoed all around him.

In the few stories he'd read where the best friend had died, the main character had only mourned for about a week, and then gone back to saving the day. He had never realised before just how unrealistic those books were – how could those people possibly have gone back to their lives as if nothing had happened? Especially when their relationship had been described as being near family-like in the closeness. A small part of him wondered if Harry, the Chosen One, the Boy Who Lived, would react like this if Hermione or Ron died.

But a larger part of him was coming to realise that he was no hero. He hadn't saved Dean, he couldn't even face his friends, and now he was destined to a life of lying on his sofa, crying over a toothbrush.


End file.
